DALLAS -- North Texas families are asking if their chances of having a child are at risk as two different fertility clinics in the country are facing lawsuits.
A class-action lawsuit has have been filed against the University Hospital Fertility Center in Cleveland, following a cryopreservation tank malfunction that potentially destroyed thousands of eggs and embryos.
A fertility clinic in San Francisco experienced a similar malfunction, which may have destroyed the eggs and embryos of nearly 600 patients.
The Fertility Center of Dallas has been open for nearly twenty-seven years. Medical Director, Dr. Michael Putman is responding to the recent incidents by sharing robust security measures in place at his clinic to prevent a potential malfunction.
"We are the guardians of the embryos, sperm and eggs," said Dr. Putman. "We take our responsibility very seriously."
Parents put their trust in Dr. Putman and his staff with the hopes to conceive a child or expand their families.
"They want to have babies and experience that feeling," he said.
The solution is often in vitro fertilization (IVF) and eggs or embryos can be stored for several years in a cryopreservation tank within a lab at the clinic.
Lab director, Lilly Zhang, says the tanks are monitored 24/7 and can hold nearly 1,500 eggs or embryos.
"It's a safe device that is checked daily, locked and equipped with an alarm," said Dr. Zhang. “The temperature inside the cryopreservation tank is kept at -196 degrees Celsius.”
According to Zhang, if the temperature inside the tank changes slightly, an alarm will signal the entire clinic.
“If the alarm goes off, it will also message four embryologists, which includes myself,” she said.
"We have never experienced a malfunction, and we have robust procedures in place to monitor the tanks on a constant basis," said Dr. Putman.
He states that while security measures are in place, he wants to learn more about the malfunctions at fertility clinics in Cleveland and San Francisco, pending an investigation.
"We need to take what we learn back to every center and look at our systems, protocols and safety measures in place for families to see if changes can be made at all," he said.
In the meantime, the Fertility Center of Dallas says their priority is to continue to safeguard the hopes and dreams of parents who want to have a child or expand their family in the future.